story-init

name story-init description This skill should be used when the user asks to "start a new story", "initialize a story project", "create a story", "new book", "set up a story", or wants to begin a new fiction writing project from scratch. Story Initialization Overview Initialize a new story project with a structured markdown folder layout. Creates the story bible, registries, scene tracking, continuity state, glossary, worldbuilding folders, plot structure, and chapter tracker - all as cross-referenced markdown files with YAML frontmatter. When to Use Starting a new story, book, or fiction project Setting up the folder structure for an existing story idea NOT for adding to an existing story project (use the domain-specific skills instead) NOT for converting an existing manuscript or chapter drafts: run story import <source> --title "{Title}" instead, then build out the bible from the entity candidates it prints Workflow Ask for basic story information: Title Genre and sub-genre Brief synopsis (2-3 sentences) Setting era/time period Key themes (2-4) POV style (first-person, third-person-limited, third-person-omniscient) Tense (past, present) If the Story CLI is available, prefer using it to create the starter project, then inspect and refine the generated files as needed: story init "{Title}" --genre "{genre}" --sub-genre "{sub-genre}" --setting-era "{era}" --pov "{pov-style}" --tense "{tense}" --synopsis "{synopsis}" --theme "{theme-1}" --theme "{theme-2}" If story is not installed, use the bundled maintenance fallback when available, resolving the script path relative to the story-maintenance skill: node ../story-maintenance/scripts/story.js init "{Title}" If neither command is available, create the files manually using the steps below. Create the folder structure at the current working directory: {story-title-kebab}/ ├── story.md ├── characters/ │ └── _index.md ├── worldbuilding/ │ ├── _index.md │ ├── locations/ │ ├── systems/ │ ├── factions/ │ └── artifacts/ ├── plot/ │ ├── _index.md │ ├── arcs/ │ └── timeline.md ├── scenes/ │ └── _index.md ├── continuity/ │ ├── state.md │ ├── questions/ │ │ └── _index.md │ └── promises/ │ └── _index.md ├── glossary/ │ ├── _index.md │ └── terms/ └── chapters/ └── _index.md Populate story.md with the story bible: --- title: "{Title}" schema-version: 2 genre: { genre } sub-genre: { sub-genre } setting-era: { era } status: planning themes: - { theme-1 } - { theme-2 } pov: { pov-style } tense: { tense } --- Below the frontmatter, include sections: Synopsis - the 2-3 sentence synopsis provided Tone & Style - brief notes on the story's voice (derive from genre/themes) Notes - empty section for the user to fill in Populate each _index.md with an empty registry: characters/_index.md : --- type: character-registry story: {story-title-kebab} --- # Characters ## Registry | Name | Role | Status | File | |------|------|--------|------| | *No characters yet* | | | | ## Relationship Map *No relationships defined yet.* ## Family Trees *No family trees defined yet.* worldbuilding/_index.md : --- type: world-registry story: {story-title-kebab} --- # Worldbuilding ## World Overview *Describe the world at a high level here.* ## Locations | Name | Type | Region | File | |------|------|--------|------| | *No locations yet* | | | | ## Systems | Name | Type | File | |------|------|------| | *No systems yet* | | | ## Factions | Name | Type | Status | File | |------|------|--------|------| | *No factions yet* | | | | ## Artifacts | Name | Type | Status | File | |------|------|--------|------| | *No artifacts yet* | | | | plot/_index.md : --- type: plot-registry story: {story-title-kebab} structure: three-act --- # Plot Structure ## Story Structure **Model:** Three-Act Structure (adjust as needed) ## Arcs | Name | Type | Status | File | |------|------|--------|------| | *No arcs yet* | | | | ## Theme Tracking | Theme | Arcs | Chapters | |-------|------|----------| | *No themes tracked yet* | | | plot/timeline.md : --- type: timeline story: {story-title-kebab} --- # Story Timeline | When | Event | Arc | Chapter | |------|-------|-----|---------| | *No events yet* | | | | chapters/_index.md : --- type: chapter-registry story: {story-title-kebab} --- # Chapters ## Registry | # | Title | POV | Status | Word Count | File | |---|-------|-----|--------|------------|------| | *No chapters yet* | | | | | | ## Total Word Count: 0 Also create the v2 support files: scenes/_index.md with frontmatter type: scene-registry continuity/state.md with frontmatter type: continuity-state , current-chapter: 0 , and empty character-state , object-state , and knowledge-state lists continuity/questions/_index.md with frontmatter type: question-registry continuity/promises/_index.md with frontmatter type: promise-registry glossary/_index.md with frontmatter type: glossary-registry If manual initialization gets tedious, stop and ask the user to install or run the Story CLI rather than inventing a different project shape. Present a summary of what was created and suggest next steps: "Add your first character" (triggers character-management skill) "Start worldbuilding" (triggers worldbuilding skill) "Define your plot structure" (triggers plot-structure skill) "Run story next . " to show deterministic next actions When CLI access is available, run a final maintenance check: story validate {story-title-kebab} If using the bundled fallback, replace story with node ../story-maintenance/scripts/story.js , resolving the path relative to this skill folder. Conventions These conventions apply across ALL story skills: Kebab-case filenames for all entity files (e.g., sera-voss.md , ashen-citadel.md ) YAML frontmatter on every file for structured metadata Schema version - story.md frontmatter includes schema-version: 2 _index.md files are authoritative registries for each domain story.md is the top-level bible read by all skills for context Bidirectional cross-links - when referencing another entity, update both files Character identifiers use the kebab-case filename without extension (e.g., sera-voss ) Death tracking - when a character dies on the page, set status: deceased and died-in: chapter-{NN} so story continuity can flag posthumous appearances mentions vs characters - chapter and scene frontmatter lists characters present in-scene under characters ; characters who are only referenced, remembered, recorded, or seen in flashback go under mentions Scene identifiers use chapter-{NN}-scene-{NN} and live in scenes/ Continuity state lives in continuity/state.md , with open questions and promises tracked under continuity/questions/ and continuity/promises/ Markdown-first artifacts - create and edit story content directly in the target .md files. Do not create project-local build scripts, generator scripts, or bulk writer scripts (for example build-*.js ) to emit story files. CLI helpers stay external - the only JavaScript helper agents should run is the installed or bundled Story CLI ( story , bun run story -- , or story-maintenance/scripts/story.js ) for deterministic maintenance. Do not copy it into the user's story project, and remove any unavoidable scratch helper before finishing.